We’re experiencing the biggest shift in how we communicate. Welcome to the new marketplace. I know social media is nothing new. It’s been on everyone’s To Do list for at least a year or two. But for those of you who are still hesitating, here are some facts that might propel you into today.
According to Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics (and the creator of my new favorite homepage, www.socialnomics.net):
- As of 2010, Gen Y (born between 1977 and 1985) were expected to out-number the Boomer population
- 96% of Gen Y has joined a social network
- Social media is now the #1 activity on the Web
Just to be clear, Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are 78-million strong. They are considered the largest demographic in the U.S., and they represent $2.1 trillion in spending power. They’ve had a substantial amount of influence on our society. But now, Gen Y is starting to overtake the Boomers as the fastest-growing segment of the workplace.
So, it’s very likely the art director, editor or art buyer you’re marketing to is a Gen Y. At the very least, they’re probably a tech-savvy Gen X.
Back to Erik Qualman. He says that while TV took 13 years to reach 50-million users, the Internet took only 3 years to reach the same number and Facebook reached 200 million in less than 12 months. There are 300,000 businesses with a presence on Facebook, and 71% plan to increase their investment in social media by an average of 40%.
Let’s talk about marketing budgets. A $15,000 spend in direct mail will potentially get you 200 new customers; a $0 investment with Twitter and Facebook could potentially get you 1,800 new customers.
Social Media Marketing = low cost marketing, traction, and one of the most effective ways to validate your business.
Create a Convincing Brand Story
The number one commandment in any type of marketing is to understand how your business fits into the world. What do you do well? Is this “thing” something you can create a business around?
This “thing” – whether it is capturing the feeling of childhood or making objects appear luxurious – is your brand. Own it. Everything you do should be about creating a convincing brand story so that your clients know you’re the go-to person when they need “it”. Build and market a consistent brand story. Empower your brand.
Marketing commandment number two: Know thy audience. Neuroscientists estimate our 5 senses receive 11 million pieces of information every second, but only 40 pieces register in our consciousness. What do we need to do in order to get the attention of our clients?
It’s important to do your research before mailing out a self-promotion campaign, but are you asking yourself the right questions in order to find your client base? For example, are you looking for clients that commission images about parenting? Or are you looking for clients that are marketing to the affluent, Gen X, settled down, career-oriented, delayed-parenting, 2-kid max, stylish couples who believe in form over function and live a green lifestyle audience?
There is a big difference between illustrating what you can do and selling what you can do. You’re not just selling your creative vision; you’re selling your understanding of your client’s subject captured by your creative vision. Identify with your audience and find out what influences them. This will help you create something relevant. When your marketing piece creates an emotional connection to your audience, it is remembered.
Now Make That Work In Social Media
Back to today’s new marketplace: Understanding your brand and identifying its market is step one to creating a social media marketing strategy.
Step two is communicating your brand story. Let’s assume you already have a website. Next, create a Facebook fan page for your business. Facebook is the perfect life and work blur. It associates your brand with a lifestyle and a community. By the way, Gen Y embraces technology as a way of multitasking life and work, empowering them to have meaning and success. Facebook allows you to create relevance within your community for your business. A Facebook fan page engages your community.
FACT: Creative professionals are getting jobs through Facebook.
Now let’s talk about YouTube, the world’s second most popular search engine behind Google. Even if your media isn’t video, you can use YouTube.com to create meaningful content to further your brand experience. Blendtec’s “Will It Blend” helped quadruple sales when the company created a series of entertaining videos illustrating what NOT to do with their blenders. Lesson: Be creative. It’s worth it.
Creating Buzz
Step three to social media marketing is creating buzz. In this new world, goods and services find us via social media.
“Today you can’t just say it, you have to get the people to say it to each other.” – Erik Qualman (love him!)
Now that you know what it is that you own, you have identified a targeted audience and built a brand experience on the Web, it’s time to get on people’s radar.
The most valuable benefit of social media (done right) is that it creates name recognition and, therefore, validates your business. Seventy-eight percent of consumers trust peer recommendations. Just as yesterday’s clients found new creatives in the pages of magazines, today’s clients look at blogs.
Reality check: This does not mean clients have the time to visit everyone’s personal visual journal blog. There are several established blogs that have already spent the time building up a relevant readership. Get your images on blogs such as www.featureshoot.com and theexposureproject.blogspot.com.
And no, I’m afraid these blogs will not pay you for your images. Hey, don’t kill the messenger. Anyone hear about “freeconomics”? The Web has become the land of the free, and free is all about creating demand. You can either submit your work to aesthetic-based blogs showcasing the art of, say photography, or you can find blogs specializing in the subjects you’re interested in shooting. A popular foodie blogger can typically reach between 1,000 and 5,000 hits a day. If you’re a food photographer, it’s possible to get on a client’s radar by appearing on the blogs he or she reads in their spare time. Shooting for a blog might not get you a fee, but it will give you visibility, which is worth a lot.
Twitter is also a great way to drive viewers to your business because it gives you a voice that helps build your authority in your specialty. Keep in mind that Twitter does have an 20/80 rule: 20% of what you tweet can be a hard sell promoting the work you have created, but 80% needs to contribute to the authenticity of your brand by sharing meaningful content with your community.
Think about this: You have been trying to woo a particular client for months. In fact, you have made it a point to reach out to them personally and so far your efforts have been successful because the potential client has called in your book and you can’t get it back. Why haven’t they hired you? Although you have made it to that top tier of 30 photographers they want to use, perhaps one of your competitors is tweeting just enough to push you out of the picture.
Ask yourself this: Can I afford to go on as business as usual? Maybe it’s time to move your business forward. Social media gives you the opportunity to be seen as a relevant resource to your clients. If you can be meaningful, inspiring, insightful, entertaining, honest... you will be memorable. Most importantly, you will instill trust in your clients.
Resources:
- www.photoshelter.com offers a free “Social Media For Photographers” guide
- Free: The Future of a Radical Price, by Chris Anderson
- A Photo Editor
- JM Colberg’s Conscientious
- Exposure Compensation
- 1000 Words Photography magazine
- 20x200: It’s Art For Everyone
- Burn magazine
- New York Times Lens blog
- FOTO 8
- FotoVisura
- Juxtapoz
- Pause, To Begin
- The Photography Post